THE Swire Shipping Fijian Drua know what is at stake when they run out at the HFC Bank Stadium this Saturday, delivering a performance worthy of their loyal fans.
“It’s up to the boys and the coaches and myself as head coach to make sure we have a decent game for the great, great supporters of Fiji,” said head coach Glen Jackson.
The Drua will face the Queensland Reds at 2.05pm and are determined to bounce back after last week’s tough loss to Moana Pasifika.
However, they will be without key flanker Motikiai Murray who suffered a sprained ankle.
“Murray went off quite early in the game, so he is out and will probably be two weeks out,” Jackson said.
“The rest of the team are pretty good, just a few bumps and bruises and obviously some mental stuff, but otherwise the run is pretty good.”
Jackson confirmed there would be changes to the line-up as the coaches look to test combinations while still aiming for victories.
“There will definitely be changes. We are still wanting to win games, but we also want to have an opportunity to see players in a few different positions,” he said.
He said it was important to reward the fans with a strong showing, especially with back-to-back home games for the first time this season.
“It’s nice to finally have a few games at home, even if it’s right at the end of the season,” Jackson said.
The Reds Jackson said, would be a challenging opponent.
“They are a quality team, but the way they play sort of suits us, in terms of both looking to play rugby,” he said.
“They’ve been very well coached this year with Les Kiss, who’s obviously going to join the Wallabies soon.”
With the top six now a long shot, Jackson said the Drua were focused on finishing strong for themselves and the country.
“We need to get wins not only for this country but also for the boys who have been trying extremely hard,” he said.
Meanwhile the Fijian Drua are at the bottom of the table with only two wins and the Reds at fourth place with six wins so far.
